[Management for esophageal foreign bodies: about 36 cases]

Esophageal foreign bodies are a frequent reason for consultation in the Pediatric Emergency Department. However, they can occur at all ages. This study aims to highlight the clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic features of esophageal foreign bodies management at the Hospital in Mali. We conducted a prospective study of all cases of ingestion of foreign bodies between January 2011 and December 2014. A total of 36 patients underwent endoscopic or surgical treatment. The average age was 6 years (with a range from 14 months to 62 years). They mainly affected male patients with a sex ratio of 1.75. Foreign bodies were blocked in the cricopharyngeal shrinkage in 69.45% of cases, 22.22% of whom had subsequent aortic shrinkage. The average time of foreign body removal was 7.30 hours. Rigid fibroscopy allowed the removal of the foreign body in 88.89% of cases. Thoracotomy allowed the removal of the foreign body in 5.55%. Esophageal foreign bodies can occur at all ages but they are more frequent among children. Endoscopic removal is the gold standard treatment but surgical removal of a blocked esophageal foreign body, although rare, is the last resort, due to the nature of the foreign body and to the occurrence of complications. The best way to reduce accidents is prevention.